


Sugar

by scioubeez



Category: Shingeki no Kyojin | Attack on Titan
Genre: Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Bad Flirting, Fluff, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Single Parents
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2021-03-06
Updated: 2021-03-06
Packaged: 2021-03-12 14:40:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,751
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29886093
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/scioubeez/pseuds/scioubeez
Summary: Word has it that there's something going on between Gabi and Falco's dads... at least according to the parents' WhatsApp groupchat.[single dads AU]
Relationships: Reiner Braun/Porco Galliard
Comments: 14
Kudos: 63





	Sugar

**Author's Note:**

> yes, you read that right. you get a sequel of the single dads au! yay! fluff! god knows we need some!
> 
> if you're new to the concept i suggest you check out the first chapter of my oneshot collection titled "Six Out Of Five", you'll find all the backstory you need!
> 
> next chapters will come whenever inspiration strikes, i'm keeping this open so i can come back to this when i need my fluff quota lmao.
> 
> hope you enjoy <3

Reiner’s checked his phone at least thrice in the span of a mere minute: who knows, maybe he's managed to read the address wrong several times in a row. Sounds like something he'd do.

"I'm hungry," complains Gabi, her small boots tapping clumsily on concrete as they walk up to the front door, Reiner's eyes still going over Porco's message, just in case. She's tugging him forward, her little hand surprisingly strong as it grabs Reiner's pinky finger and almost twists it, such is her impatience.

"I know," sighs Reiner, though his lips are curved into a small smile, and he looks down at his daughter: he can't focus properly on Gabi's little frown, too distracted by her adorable round cheeks. "We're here, see? This is Falco's house."

Gabi huffs, as if she walked for half an hour instead of a couple of minutes. "I'm hungry," she repeats, "cold and hungry," again, "and sad," she declares, right as Reiner kneels down so she can grab on him.

Reiner lifts her with a single arm and little to no trouble, ringing the bell after putting his phone back in his pocket. Gabi clings onto him, her stubby little legs kicking around as they wait for the door to open.

"Why are you sad?" he asks, keeping his voice down. Gabi appreciates it and rests her whole unimpressive weight against Reiner's chest, nuzzling up into his neck.

"Because I'm cold," she murmurs, Reiner doing his best to stifle a laugh while kissing the top of her head, doesn't matter if it's covered by her knitted hat.

Before Gabi can add anything else, the door clicks open: Reiner's heart skips a beat when he sees Porco's little smile, and how wider it grows as he steps aside to welcome them in. “Hey,” he rasps, his voice ringing pleasantly in Reiner’s ears.

"Hi," he greets back, finding himself unsually short of breath as he steps inside, helping Gabi down while Porco closes the door. Oh, no, his hair. It’s slicked back and the most flattering shade of ginger he’s ever seen and he’s even got an undercut-

"Wait, Gabi," croaks Reiner, clearing his throat as he kneels down to help her out of her coat, "we need to take this off."

"I wanna play," she pouts, stomping her feet, Porco snickering from somewhere behind Reiner- it's starting to get uncomfortably hot in here.

"I know, but your boots are super dirty," explains Reiner, thanking Porco under his breath as he hands him Gabi's coat, “and you're going to sweat and catch something if you keep this on."

As soon as Reiner peels both her mittens and hat off her, Gabi starts fixing her hair with clumsy little hands, fingers spread wide open to move as much of it as possible in one single stroke. "Okay," she squeaks, and Reiner doesn't miss Porco's constant chuckling at their exchanges.

"There, now you can go play with Falco," announces Reiner eventually, and Gabi is scooting off already, her boots still in Reiner's hands: she almost falls forward because she's so enthusiastic, and he can't help but laugh when he hears both her and Falco meowing enthusiastically in the other room, followed by the constant slapping of tiny little hands on the parquet as they pretend to be little cats and crawl all over the floor.

Reiner watches them play together, a content smile on his face: Falco is Gabi's first potential friend, and seeing her having fun with a kid his age truly warms the heart.

He doesn't know how much time's passed, but when he gazes to the side he spots Porco looking up at him, arms crossed, a way-too-pleased smirk on his lips. "Aren't you going to take that off?"

"Oh," he snorts, cheeks too warm for comfort as he sheds his coat as well, Porco helping him out of it- God, he wishes he was even half as charming as he is. "Yeah, thanks."

"...no problem," he stutters then, Reiner drawing his eyebrows together- does he have something on his back? He turns around only to find Porco's gaze shooting quickly to the side while he hangs Reiner's coat next to Gabi’s much smaller one: he's not sure what to make of it, so he shrugs mentally, stepping out of his shoes and leaving them beside Gabi's little boots.

"I hope we're not imposing or anything," starts Reiner then, in a clumsy attempt at breaking the ice: he hopes Porco won't spot him wiping his sweaty hands on his thighs, and he almost sighs in relief when his gaze flies up into his eyes.

"Not at all," he reassures, in an airy tone that Reiner can't quite place. "Come in, come in. You can watch them from the kitchen, Falco helped me with the carpet so they've got the whole living room for playing."

"Nice," comments Reiner, following Porco as he glances at the kids, their little hands full of soft building blocks as they try to craft the tallest and most colourful tower ever seen. He raises a hand to greet Falco, his big, big eyes going all wide and his cheeks red like little round cherries: he greets back, though he hides his mouth behind the soft block he's holding, Reiner's smile only growing wider at his shyness.

"It won't take long," announces Porco then, staring at the counter with impressive insistence: he picks something up, tilting his head- Reiner realizes he's got his mouth open only when Porco manages to get the earring inside the hole, closing it properly. So he's got four of them.

"There's no rush," gasps Reiner, pulling at the collar of his shirt and trying to distract himself by watching over the kids, but his attention flies immediately back to Porco: he’s staring at Reiner’s arms so insistently that he has to check if his shirt is stained or torn, earning a soft snort in answer before he observes out loud, “you look like you lift weights everyday.”

That was unexpected: Reiner stares down at Porco for a long, long second before remembering that he should answer, and that yes, people can in fact be interested in someone like him. “I used to, actually,” he admits, Porco's gaze lingering as he adds, "when I played football back in college. I’m stuck with ordinary workouts now, though.”

"Nice,” sighs Porco, turning around before he can spot Reiner’s furrowed brows. He opens the cupboard and digs through the stacked pots, the constant clanging distracting Reiner from the echoes of his raspy voice, enough for him to glance at the kids: they're still focused on building the tower, Gabi trying to take all the leftover pieces and Falco silently inching closer to steal them from her. It can either end in disaster or tragedy, so Reiner braces himself for when he'll need to stop Gabi's guaranteed furious rampage.

"What about you," he asks then, Porco humming to himself as he pours the milk in the pot, "what do you do for fun?"

Reiner can spy a small smile growing on his face, thanks to Porco's cheekbones shooting up. "I'm all about music," he reveals, "I give private guitar lessons."

"Really?" asks Reiner, genuinely surprised: he can picture Porco sitting on the sofa in his living room, guitar in his lap as he plays quietly, maybe humming to himself while he picks the strings with deft fingers- he pulls at his collar, yet again. "Wow. Are you good at it?"

Porco stirs the chocolate as he snorts, throwing a glance backwards, gaze tangling with Reiner's. "Of course. I could play a tune for you some time, if you’re into it."

"Yeah, why not."

"Looking forward to your judgement," drawls Porco, bending slightly so he can check the fire under the pot as he keeps stirring, and Reiner pretends not to focus on the nape of his neck. He checks on the kids again, and finds Falco babbling something to himself as he turns a building block in his little hands while Gabi crawls around and pretends to sniff everything just like a cat would. No civil war over toys, thankfully.

"Done," announces Porco, turning the stove off. "I'll set the table while it cools off, don't want burnt tongues on my conscience."

"I can help," offers Reiner, stepping forward: Porco doesn’t react, at least not immediately, and starts gathering spoons and colourful napkins very slowly, all while staring at Reiner with a foreboding glint in his eye.

"Help with what?" he wonders then, a breathy quality to his voice that has Reiner blink several times before answering, very eloquently, with a grunt.

"Eh?"

Instead of clarifying what he meant, Porco just snorts and hands him the napkins. "Here, thank you. Falco wants the orange one."

"...right," nods Reiner, turning around and making a face at said napkins- what was that? Was he flirting?

"Oh," he gasps a few seconds later, realization only hitting as he’s done placing the napkins, so he _was_ flirting! God, Reiner can be so dumb sometimes, Porco is probably regretting all this.

When it's time to get the kids to wash their hands, Reiner, who is already bracing himself to fight Gabi in the name of proper hygiene, stares in wonder as both her and Falco follow Porco to the sink: he can't believe his eyes when Gabi offers to wash her hands first, Falco pouting at her while grabbing onto Porco's leg. She's still sulking as Falco climbs on the small stool and does as he's told: her competitive little spirit fires up then, there's no way she's falling behind! She'll show Falco that she's just as polite and clean as him, if not even better! Reiner can only laugh quietly to himself while helping Falco dry his hands later, sneaking a glance at Gabi as she follows Porco's instructions to the letter, rubbing her little clumsy hands properly so the soap can reach everywhere it needs to. 

When they're both sitting at the table, Falco smiling down at his orange napkin, Porco grabs the remote from the counter before joining them: "alright, what are we watching today?"

"Peppa!" squeals Falco almost immediately, "Peppa Pig!"

Gabi isn't a fan of it, Reiner knows that she's got a soft spot for PAW Patrol, but she nods anyway, imitating Falco in his little Peppa Pig chant. Porco turns the television on, both kids squealing excitedly as he goes through the pen drive menu, digging through an impressively huge folder named "Peppa Pig", chock full of downloaded episodes. Reiner snickers to himself, covering his mouth as he sits down beside Gabi.

"I heard you," drawls Porco, a lazy smile on his face that has Reiner's legs shake, thank God he's sitting already.

They eat quietly, the kids grabbing handmade cookies from the platter with slow, tentative hands, hypnotized by the high-pitched and over enthusiastic voices coming from the television: Reiner wipes the corner of Gabi's mouth as she keeps eating, eyes never leaving the screen, a half-eaten cookie in her hand. Falco's got chocolate all over his chin, and Reiner reaches forward to grab another napkin to wipe his face too, all while leaving a small kiss on the top of Gabi's head.

When Reiner sits back, Falco turns towards him, still munching, and squeaks a little "thank you" that has Reiner's heart melt in his chest.

"You're welcome," he answers, even if Falco is already entranced by Peppa's adventures, though Reiner doesn't mind. What's important now is that Porco is staring at him as he plays idly with his earrings.

"Oi," he murmurs then, Reiner sitting straighter in his chair, "you've got some chocolate on your shirt."

"Really? Where-"

"Better get it off before it stains for good," he interrupts, eyes growing wider, cheeks blushing harder- oh. Now he's tilting his head towards the kitchen, he's probably going to stand up... oh. He wants Reiner to follow him there.

"...yeah, you're-"

"Dad!" squeals Gabi out of the blue, pointing her tiny finger to the screen, "Dad, look, look! Puddle!"

"Puddle, puddle!" repeats Falco, joining Gabi, and Reiner snorts as he looks at the television: the characters are all jumping and rolling in the mud, and somehow it's the funniest thing Gabi and Falco have ever seen. They've still got crumbs all over their little faces and on their bibs, Porco helping Reiner to wipe them all off as he starts a silent game of look-don't-look that has Reiner swallow more often than necessary.

"Alright, last episode for today," announces Porco then, clearing his throat, "Peppa needs to sleep and rest for tomorrow's episodes, right?"

It's a reasoning that Falco's heard several times apparently, because he nods all serious and responsible, whereas Gabi huffs, looking up at Reiner with big pleading eyes.

"You heard what Porco said," he murmurs, Gabi pouting at his words: she really likes Peppa Pig now, it seems. Reiner makes a mental note to ask Porco where he found all the episodes, so they can watch it together at home as well.

Eventually they manage to turn the television off, both kids immediately forgetting everything about Peppa Pig's existence: they run off towards their abandoned colourful tower on unsteady little legs, Reiner following them- but before he can step in the living room, Porco catches him by the wrist and tugs him backwards, then past the fridge where the kids won't see them, and their lips meet for the briefest of seconds.

"Oh," exhales Reiner, stupidly, his voice shaking: Porco holds his wrist tighter as he kisses him again, Reiner melting under the pressure of his lips, his breath that smells like chocolate and homemade cookies, his half-lidded eyes: when was the last time he kissed someone? Too long given how hard his hands are shaking, that much is certain.

Reiner kisses him back just as hard, teeth clashing, Porco gasping against his mouth as Reiner grabs his waist but, before things can get too heated, he takes a hesitant step back.

"You're so frustrating," he admits in a low voice, holding his head low and toying with Reiner's hand as he turns it over, brushing his knuckles with his thumb, "thought you'd gotten the hint earlier."

Reiner clears his throat, gaze running over Porco's slicked back hair, wondering out of the blue how it falls down in its natural state. "It's just hard to believe, you know."

"What," scoffs Porco, tilting his head to the side, allowing Reiner to spot the blush still staining his cheeks.

"That you'd want to kiss me already-"

"Let's go on a date then," blurts out Porco, now looking up with newfound determination, "so you can believe it next time it happens. What are we, teenagers? Want me to buy you ice cream before I confess?"

Reiner smiles at Porco's words, biting his lower lip in mild embarrassment. "I'd like that, actually."

"Then it's settled," mumbles Porco, averting his eyes again, though he's still tracing the ridges of Reiner's knuckles, and even the tips of his ears are red- how endearing. "Let's go see what the kids are up to."

"Yeah," agrees Reiner, clearing his throat- Porco makes sure to let go of his hand only when they're in the children's field of vision, and his heart beats a bit faster than it usually would.

"I'm tired," sighs Gabi, hugging Reiner's neck as he carries her. The walk to the car is short, but she's exhausted after all that crawling and running around. Falco was about to fall asleep as well as they waved them goodbye on the doorstep earlier, Porco holding him up with an arm, the small knowing smile on his lips still occupying most of Reiner's thoughts.

"Dinner first," says Reiner, unlocking the car and opening the door to help Gabi climb on the baby seat, fastening her seatbelt once she settles down. "You can't sleep without food in your tummy," he explains, kissing her forehead as Gabi squirms, giggling quietly.

Right before Reiner starts the car, his phone vibrates: he takes it out of his pocket to glance quickly at the lockscreen, eyebrows shooting up as he reads Porco's name. Needless to say, he unlocks it immediately to read the message: an angry emoji, followed by a kissing one, and nothing else.

"Dad!" squeaks Gabi, kicking the back of the seat in annoyance, "come on!"

"Ah- sorry," exhales Reiner, locking the phone and starting the car- he's still blushing. Maybe he should turn the heating down.


End file.
